Russia Reduces Times Zones to Nine

Now we remove some time zones... Next we abolish Daylight Time!

St Petersburg may move the clock ahead one last time on 28 March 2010.  Russian scientists and some politicians see Daylight Time as unhealthy, pointing to studies showing more mental confusion, depression and heart attacks when DST starts and stops.  President Medvedev wants this to be the last season with a second hour forward for Daylight Time.

Russia now has only 9 time zones...

The big news is that Russia now has 9 time zones... consolidated from the previous 11.  Five regions have moved one hour closer to Moscow time.  These locations will have no daylight savings this year so the consolidation of Russian time zones can take effect.

West to east...

Udmurt Republic , Samara and Komarova  will join Moscow time zone, while people in the Far East regions of Kamchatka and Chukotka will be setting their time in the Magadan Zone one hour to the west, and will be just eight hours away for communications with Moscow.

Time not absolute...

Physically Russia spans 12 geographic time zones, 15° degrees latitude each, but observed only 11.  Now it has only 9.  This consolidation trend could continue.

If you think abolishing 2 time zones is radical, look at China.  Since 1949 it has had only one time zone, for a country nearly as wide as the United States.  Get busy, Obama!
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It's great to get comments!  Should the USA consolidate time zones?  Is Daylight time not worth the bother?  Why do politicians like to play around with time zones?

To comment open by clicking the 26.3.10  below or clicking our title at the top.  Presto!  There's the form when you scroll to the end of this article.

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